politics
March 15, 2026
2 former federal workers turned their firings into a movement to help hundreds of others
March 14, 2026 / 10:05 PM EDT / CBS News
TL;DR
- Rebecca Ferguson-Ondrey and Drew Ruby-Howe were terminated from their jobs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- They were among over 300,000 workers to leave the federal government due to cuts.
- The loss of their jobs was described as a unique form of grief, involving loss of career, identity, and mission.
- Ferguson-Ondrey and Ruby-Howe founded WellFed, a support group for fired federal workers, which now has nearly 5,000 members.
- WellFed provides workshops on finances, resumes, and mental health, and advocates for federal workers.
- Approximately 25% of WellFed's members have found new jobs.